Released in 2001, the Game Boy Advance was the successor to the original Game Boy. While the first Game Boy’s screen was difficult to see, the GBA SP model offered a much brighter display. The GBA boasts a library of classic games that remain enjoyable today, and many are now playable on Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 with a Nintendo Online subscription.
Games like Golden Sun and Metroid Fusion are still enjoyable, but not every Game Boy Advance title has stood the test of time. While these older games aren’t necessarily bad, improvements in technology and the release of newer games have made some of them difficult to play on original GBA hardware today.
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Boktai: The Sun Is In Your Hand
Impossible In So Many Ways
Boktai: The Sun Is in Your Hand was a really unique and fun game for the Game Boy Advance, though it could be a bit tricky to play. Players took on the role of a vampire hunter who journeyed across a world map, searching for dungeons where powerful vampire lords resided.
To beat the game and its enemies, players had to actually go outside and use sunlight to charge a special weapon, the solar gun. Now, finding a copy of Boktai: The Sun Is in Your Hand and a Game Boy Advance to play it on is incredibly difficult, though the game can still be enjoyable even without the sunlight feature.
Duke Nukem Advance
First-Person Shooters Have Come A Long Way On Handhelds
- Developer: Torus Games
- Publisher: Take-Two Interactive
- Platform: GBA
- Released: 8/13/02
When Duke Nukem Advance came out on the Game Boy Advance in 2002, it stood out because first-person shooters were rare on that system. The Duke Nukem series was also popular at the time, making a handheld version a significant release. While it wasn’t as groundbreaking as Halo, it was a solid and enjoyable game for the GBA.
While once notable, Duke Nukem Advance doesn’t quite measure up to modern standards. Handheld first-person shooters have improved so much that even some games on the DS now look and play better.
Grand Theft Auto Advance
The Top-Down GTA Is Dead
While Duke Nukem Advance was decent, Grand Theft Auto Advance was a standout title. This exclusive Grand Theft Auto game, authorized by Rockstar, has largely been forgotten by fans. It featured a classic top-down perspective and, despite being on the Game Boy Advance, wasn’t suitable for children.
Honestly, in those early Grand Theft Auto games, you could just cause total chaos – shooting people, jacking cars, the whole nine yards, and that familiar wanted level was always there to keep things interesting. Looking back, the really old, top-down GTA games, like Grand Theft Auto Advance, don’t really stick with me. But it’s cool to remember how they all built up to Chinatown Wars, which started on the DS and is still a fantastic game, even now.
Harry Potter And The Prisoner of Azkaban
A Golden Sun-Like
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was a video game based on the third Harry Potter movie. However, it played very differently from other Harry Potter games on consoles. Instead of focusing on puzzles, it featured action-based combat and movement, much like the game Golden Sun, and involved using magic to overcome challenges in dungeons.
What really stood out to me were the battles – they looked surprisingly good for a Game Boy Advance game! Honestly, this GBA version is still the best adaptation of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban we’ve gotten, and it’s still a pretty solid Harry Potter game overall. But let’s be real, the standard for Harry Potter games isn’t very high, so comparing it to a real, complex GBA RPG just wouldn’t be fair.
Mario Kart: Super Circuit
Like Racing Tanks
Mario Kart: Super Circuit felt like a return to the classic Mario Kart on the Super Nintendo, but with improved graphics. It also included more playable characters and tracks, and the controls were slightly refined.
Revisiting this game after playing more modern portable titles highlights how clunky it feels compared to newer games – it’s about as smooth as the original SNES version. While the graphics still look decent and the game has plenty of content, it’s simply not enjoyable to play due to the awkward controls.
Max Payne
A Good Pared-Down Experience
It was a pleasant surprise to find Max Payne on the Game Boy Advance. The game is a pretty accurate adaptation of the original, featuring narrations displayed in speech bubbles. Despite the pixelated graphics and top-down perspective, it doesn’t shy away from the original’s intense violence and mature content, including iconic gun-fu moves and the protagonist’s heavy reliance on pills.
While not as enjoyable as the PlayStation 2 game, this GBA action title from 2003 was solid for its time. However, the graphics haven’t aged well and don’t hold up compared to modern standards.
Mega Man Battle Network
Dealing With Random Enemies
The original Mega Man Battle Network was the first role-playing game in the Mega Man series, and it was incredibly popular for years, along with its sequels. Even today, the game is visually impressive, with beautifully detailed characters and lively battle scenes.
The dungeon gameplay feels repetitive because of the constant, randomly generated enemy encounters. While the battles themselves are enjoyable, they happen so frequently that they drag out the experience and become tiresome.
Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire
A Series That Has Evolved Way Too Much
Pokémon Ruby and Pokémon Sapphire launched the third generation of Pokémon games and marked the beginning of some disagreements among fans, even at the time of their release. Looking back, these games still offer enjoyable music, interesting Pokémon, and impressive graphics.
While the early Pokemon games are nostalgic for many, playing them today can be frustrating. Things like searching for Pokemon in tall grass, the pace of battles, how Pokemon gain experience, and even just getting around the game world feel very old-fashioned compared to the much smoother and faster-paced modern Pokemon titles.
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell
Better Stealth Games Now
Like Max Payne, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell aimed for a more realistic look in its Game Boy Advance version, particularly with its characters. These characters were noticeably larger and more detailed than what was typically seen on the GBA at the time.
The lighting wasn’t as good as the original Xbox version, but this was still an enjoyable 2D stealth game – and one of the few available on the Game Boy Advance. Fans of stealth games could get their fix with Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell on the GBA, and while the game hasn’t aged terribly, it’s best experienced knowing what to expect.
Super Robot Taisen: Original Generation 2
A Slow-Paced Tactical Game
I first got into the Super Robot Taisen series – or Super Robot Wars as it’s also known – when I heard about it. It started way back in 1991 in Japan on the Game Boy, and the core idea is awesome: tactical battles with giant robots, but the really cool part is that it brings together characters and mechs from tons of different anime! Sadly, most of the games never left Japan. We finally got a taste of it here in North America on the Game Boy Advance, but it was with a couple of spin-off titles: Super Robot Taisen: Original Generation and its sequel. Still, it was a start!
The second game is slightly better because it tried to do more, but both games fall short compared to the tactical RPGs fans were hoping for. They lack the strong graphics and anime style that would have made them truly stand out. If you’re an RPG and mech fan looking for a great game on the GBA, you should definitely try Super Robot Taisen J, as there’s an English translation patch available.
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2026-03-26 03:37